Tuesday, September 20, 2011

Finally....ugh!!! Cindy Dolls are completed ready for their tags and bags!...Wigging is a time consuming affair for ten dolls....but I think its really the point where they receive their personalities!!! I mainly use Goat Hair because I love its silkiness and it just seems the most realistic. Hair has always been an Issue for me! Four kids in our family, I was the only one that had this huge head of frizz and curls that grew out and up instead of down! Maybe that is why I take the time to prepare and beautify the hair ...Just a weirdo thing that is important to me!!!

I buy a whole goat fleece...actually many fleeces of different lengths and textures in a natural color after the "shearing" season. I have to separate the matted, dirty, smelly!!! hair into bundles..wash it many times and condition it. I dye the bundles with regular hair color....and then condition again...and de-matt, trim and brush ...what a job!!! But I love the results and the ability to have any color and texture hair on hand.

When the doll is complete, I cover her with plastic wrap and carefully drill the top of her head with my little walnut hollow drill...this is a great drill because it fits in the palm of my hand ...its light and I can control it. after drilling, I coat the raw paperclay with a tacky glue...and then I start to wig her.......

So Finally!!!... These dolls are moving along﻿﻿ at lightening speed. Once I just sit and focus...the ideas flow and the outfit comes together. I thought for sure they'd just hang there for another year...but I seem to work better under pressure...haha (whew!)

Anyway.... I like Candy...so I found these cool swirly mint candy molds (Wilton)....the perfect "TAM" hat for Cindy...When I think of Suess..I think STRIPES!!! and colorful...ugh...

two things that are hard for me...but I was able to put a Pink Candy...glittery shiny "Twist" to the idea...and I'm liking it now. I Powdered up the candy molds and then used paperclay...trying to "hollow" out a head shape in each candy hat. When Dried...I drilled a hole so that the armature wire protruding from the dolls head could go through the hat...the I made tiny whipped cream poufs from the same clay...and drilled a hole halfway through, so that it becomes a cap to the hat...hiding the armature wire.

I Created my jacket pattern...and planned it so that i could fit a wire ring inside the jacket bottom to create a crazy suess-like shape....I then created tiny clay buttons...I started from an Idea my friend Sue Milo had using paper....But I'm "More CLAY"!!! Sue used a tiny embossing folder that has the cutest tiny buttons...she embossed the buttons and punched them out with small circle punches. I really wanted a thicker button...so i tried "CLAY" in the embossing folder ...WHOA! so cool!!! after baking the buttons...I drilled tiny holes with the smallest drill bit and then pushed silk ribbon through, tying a knot....

The Pants were made from plain pink velvet fabric that I Stamped with a neat line stamp painted with acrylic paint...then I sprinkled with fine angel dust glitter....

About Me

So this Dollmaking journey continues with my Passion for sculpting in paperclay...and embellishing with every kind of Media that I can get my hands on! I Teach Sculpting paper clay dolls and embellishing in Mixed Medias.